Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) Sees Large Volume Increase

Lloyds Banking Group plc (NYSE:LYG) shares saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 18,941,332 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 107% from the previous session’s volume of 9,150,507 shares.The stock last traded at $2.48 and had previously closed at $2.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Bank of America raised shares of Lloyds Banking Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.17.

Lloyds Banking Group Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $2.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81. The company has a market cap of $40.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.32.

Lloyds Banking Group (NYSE:LYG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.11 EPS for the quarter. Lloyds Banking Group had a net margin of 17.97% and a return on equity of 11.29%. The company had revenue of $19.05 billion during the quarter. On average, analysts expect that Lloyds Banking Group plc will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lloyds Banking Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.046 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. Lloyds Banking Group’s payout ratio is currently 45.00%.

Institutional Trading of Lloyds Banking Group

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lloyds Banking Group by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 35,079,795 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $77,176,000 after purchasing an additional 3,449,866 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 149.9% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 29,696,591 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,975,000 after acquiring an additional 17,814,615 shares during the period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 29,131,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,050,000 after acquiring an additional 2,336,000 shares during the period. Macquarie Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 27,050,491 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,757,000 after acquiring an additional 236,934 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Lloyds Banking Group by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 22,166,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $52,978,000 after acquiring an additional 1,180,775 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.15% of the company’s stock.

Lloyds Banking Group Company Profile

Lloyds Banking Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of banking and financial services in the United Kingdom and internationally. It operates in three segments: Retail; Commercial Banking; and Insurance, Pensions and Investments. The Retail segment offers a range of financial service products, including current accounts, savings, mortgages, motor finance, unsecured loans, leasing solutions, and credit cards to personal customers.